Article excerpt

The two sides are disputing the size of a budget gap for next
year and whether new austerity measures will be needed to cover it.

Government officials resumed talks with representatives of
Greece's foreign creditors on Tuesday amid a dispute between the two
sides over the size of a budget gap for next year, and whether new
austerity measures would be needed to cover it, as tolerance in the
recession-hit country was wearing thin.

The return to Athens by inspectors from the European Commission,
European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, which have
extended Greece two bailouts worth 240 billion euros, or $323
billion, over the past three years, comes amid rising political and
social tensions because of the seemingly relentless austerity being
imposed on Greeks in return for the aid.

Labor unions have called a general strike for Wednesday, the
fifth this year, to protest the government's "catastrophic, dead-
end policies." With unemployment pushing 28 percent and living
standards slashed, the fragile coalition of Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras appears increasingly divided over the punishing economic
program being demanded by creditors.

A dispute over the fiscal gap for 2014 -- which Greece calculates
at EUR 500 million and the three lenders put at more than EUR 2
billion -- almost derailed the resumption of negotiations. Troika
officials only confirmed their visit at the last minute after a
flurry of speculation about possible cancellation. A European
Commission spokesman, Simon O'Connor, said the visit was finalized
after Athens sent additional budget data to Brussels late on Friday.

Although eager to secure new rescue funding, government officials
are insisting that Greeks have been pushed to their limits. Mr.
Samaras labored the point in an interview broadcast late Monday
night on Greek television. "Horizontal measures such as reductions
to salaries and pensions can neither be endured by our society, nor
are they necessitated by the current fiscal situation," he said,
noting that "structural reforms" pledged by Athens would be
enforced. …